Self Portrait - Picasso head

This was one fun assignment,I did not realize there was an artistic side of me until now.
For this assignment I was introduced to a different form of self representation which involves creating a self portrait to identify myself using modern technology. Picasso head is a very engaging website which allows you to create your own potriat from various features such as face,eyes,lips and nose. You can also use options like scale up or down,flip and rotate to help customize your work.



What I learnt


"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

– Pablo Picasso


As I went through this assignment,I found myself agreeing completely with Picasso (even my kids who were watching me as I was creating my portrait had as much fun as I did)

I think this assignment addresses the first standard of the ISTE-NETS. Which talks about using technology to improve higher-order thinking skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.

The assignment helped me to merge technology with creativity,it brought out an artistic side of me which I did not know existed and it made learning fun.
The lessons learned will greatly help me teach my students ,and motivate them to learn better as they engage in such creative,engaging and fun learning activities.

Kindly take a look at my portrait below,

A Better Resume For A Better Job

For this assignment we were introduced to Rezscore a free online tool that evaluates and grades your uploaded resume.What I found to be most helpful with Rezscore is that it also analyzes your resume and gives you accurate feedback and advice on how to improve your resume. When I first submitted my resume, I got a C+ with the following suggestions for improvement "Your resume is too short,remove your objective section,try a professional headline instead,do not mention or provide references" After I implemented the changes I got a B+ which was great for me since unfortunately my resume is too short.(Very little life and work experiences I guess) Rezscore is a great tool that will definately be very helpful to me since I will be job hunting very soon in the next few months.And a good resume will be the first positive step in that direction. I also believe that the use of this tool is inline with the third standard of the ISTE-NETS .Since I will be teaching high school students in future, who will also be job hunting very soon after their education,I hope to introduce them to this great tool to help them present a better resume to their potential employers and hopefully get better job offers. Finally, using Rezscore also helped me appreciate the effectivenes of a good feedback.When feedback is given and used positively it will definately increase student achievement.

Snip! Snip! I can not believe I am Snipping

I am soo excited, I really cannot believe that I am actually snipping.This tool is just awesome and it was available on my computer the whole time !!! I choose to capture an image of he Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) for Mathematics - Algebra because I believe that as a future math teacher, even though I will allow alot of room for creativity in my classroom lessons,I must also ensure that the learning material and content is clearly alligned to my state approved standards of learning.

Resume -Google Docs

This was my first time using Google Docs and I must admit it was quite a challenge.I have a resume on my desktop in word document but when I tried uploading it, I  kept on getting the following error message "No upload methods available,please check your system configuration".
After several attempts at changing settings etc, I decided to start all over and create a new resume from an availabe template which workd out fine for me.
To view my resume please  click here
After the initial hurdle I was challenged tol learn about the importance of google docs and how it can help me in my future career as a SecondaryMath Teacher.
Google Docs  is a free, Web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google. That allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users.
In future this tool will help me to effectively collaborate my planning and writing, sharing information, working simultaneously with my students ,teachers and parents.
I believe that this assignment on using google docs addresses the third standard of the ISTE-NETS-T.Google
Using google docs will help me

Create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF's and forms online and make tem accesible to myself and others.

To collaborate and share documents with my fellow teachers, my students and their parents or guardians

To access my work files away from school or home without using a thumb drive

To increase students' ability to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and presentations

To make ALL students in a group accountable for the group work

To peer edit documents

To create professional documents using templates

To help me communicate effectively with other teachers, my students and their parents or guardians

And to model and facilitate an effective use of technology to maximize sudent learning

Introduction

My name is Freda Brew and I am originally from Ghana in West -Africa.However,I have been living in Virginia for the past eleven years and I just moved to Centreville with my ten year old son and six year old daughter.
I am currently enrolled in the Master of Education with Indivdualized Focus program at Shenandoah and hope to graduate in December (That is if I am able to survive/pass this class).That been said,unfortunately I have had very little/limited computer experience.I only started using computers and the internet  a few years ago here in the States.
Thus my approach to this class is a combination of apprehension and excitement.
But I hope to follow the exciting pathway throughout this course, and gain all the knowledge on how to apply educational technology applications so that I can be a great teacher in future.